Since 2015, the term “migration crisis” has appeared in the media almost on a daily basis. Why now and not back in the 1990’s when comparable numbers of asylum requests were lodged in Europe? Many parameters are indeed very different today than in past episodes of refugee arrivals. In 2015, refugees moved in large numbers over large distances, from the South to the North, and they had to risk their lives to do so. The lack of political coherence in Europe when coping with these arrivals nearly led to a breakdown of the entire EU. However, it is not only a “crisis” of politics, but also of numbers, distance and rights. What are its fundamentals?
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The EU relocation mechanism for Italy and Greece promised to be the first fully-fledged experiment of “non-just-financial” solidarity among EU Member States in the field of asylum. After more than a year of implementation, its shortcomings appear as clear as the sun in the summer sky. However, it holds some merits, primarily to have shown the advantages of a better integration of NGOs in the governance of asylum redistributive schemes. The same NGOs are now under attack. Why?
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Recently we witnessed the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States of America. Given that he has no prior political experience, his election was for a long time considered unthinkable. And since he built his election campaign on xenophobic, racist and sexist language, many dreaded such an outcome. Immediately, questions were also raised about what Trump’s election means for international relations and whether it will boost other populist movements worldwide.
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